Archie
Errrr.....
Well it's been a while since This thread started off my bike building project, and since then progress has been glacier like as I've assimilated all the knowledge I've needed on parts and mechanics. But finally the bike is finished, and here it is.
The frame is a NOS early 90's Fausto Coppi steel frame made by Masciaghi. Frame and forks are Columbus Genius steel, which would have been fairly high end in it's day. Frame and forks weigh around 1.8Kg.
The bike is fitted with a modern Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed groupset. The frame is late enough to have 130mm spacing for the rear axle, which made sourcing the group easier than would be for an earlier vintage frame. Note the step-down ferrule for the rear mech cable frame boss. This is designed for 4mm cable outer, whereas the group came with the modern SIS style 4.5mm cable, meaing a normal ferrule could not be used.
The frame suppliers installed a Miche 1" threaded headset and Mirage bottom bracket at my request, so the ultra-torque chainring supplied with the group would render the bottom bracket redundant. I opted to buy the square taper chainset seen here, as a chat with the LBS established switching to U/T would involve a lot of "faff", and they'd have to do it as I wasn't confident of handling the job myself.
The Cinelli stem was bought new, but the Deda anatomical bars (250g) were a second-hand purchase from the CTC forum.
This was my first attempt at routing cables under bar tape. No doubt the job could be neater, but the cables themselves all work as expected with hopefully the minimum length required. I went for front & back routing, simply because that's what the grooves on the bar suggested I should do.
Fitting the bar tape wasn't too hard, but there were a few bits which could have been neater.
I learned some lessons for the second attempt.
The frame was supplied with adapters which allow use of modern Ergo levers with the downtube shifter bosses.
The Easton Vista SL Wheels were bought from the LBS, and are shod with the highly regarded Michelin Pro3 race tyre. These were demo wheels, which they did me a reasonable deal for, and they weigh in about 1750g.
The quick release are cheapo fiver Ebay jobs. I'll try and source some nice enclosed Campy QR skewers but modern designs all seem to be open cam, which I refuse to pay top dollar for. The cheapies will do the job just fine for now
The frame was designed as a true racing bike, with little clearance between seat tube and rear tyre, or front mech and tyre.
I've fitted a Brookes B17N saddle, another Ebay bargain, to provide a modicum of practicality. This allows me to use a Carradice Barley for carrying lunch and spares if I commute in or go for a day ride.
Being a bit of a short-arse, you'll note from the small amount of seatpost showing, this can cause problems if the saddlebag fouls the rear tyre. Instead of an expensive Bagman I've borrowed some shock-cord courtesy of my other hobby, dinghy sailing, to use as a solution.
This prevents the Barley from sagging onto the rear wheel as the ride progresses.
Simply shift the shock-cord to the top of the bag to load and unload.
It's been a fun, and occasionally frustrating, process. Luckily I've a patient kind of nature so if there was something I wanted to research or mull over I'd be happy to leave something a week or two whilst I sorted it out. Many thanks to the guys on Know How who helped out with some of those issues, especially jpembroke who offered a Campy lockring for a reasonable price when answering one of those queries. Hope you like it.
Finally, I thought it might be fun for you all to guess how much all the bike bits (except the Barley) in the photos cost for this bike build. Anyone like to take a stab?
The frame is a NOS early 90's Fausto Coppi steel frame made by Masciaghi. Frame and forks are Columbus Genius steel, which would have been fairly high end in it's day. Frame and forks weigh around 1.8Kg.
The bike is fitted with a modern Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed groupset. The frame is late enough to have 130mm spacing for the rear axle, which made sourcing the group easier than would be for an earlier vintage frame. Note the step-down ferrule for the rear mech cable frame boss. This is designed for 4mm cable outer, whereas the group came with the modern SIS style 4.5mm cable, meaing a normal ferrule could not be used.
The frame suppliers installed a Miche 1" threaded headset and Mirage bottom bracket at my request, so the ultra-torque chainring supplied with the group would render the bottom bracket redundant. I opted to buy the square taper chainset seen here, as a chat with the LBS established switching to U/T would involve a lot of "faff", and they'd have to do it as I wasn't confident of handling the job myself.
The Cinelli stem was bought new, but the Deda anatomical bars (250g) were a second-hand purchase from the CTC forum.
This was my first attempt at routing cables under bar tape. No doubt the job could be neater, but the cables themselves all work as expected with hopefully the minimum length required. I went for front & back routing, simply because that's what the grooves on the bar suggested I should do.
Fitting the bar tape wasn't too hard, but there were a few bits which could have been neater.
I learned some lessons for the second attempt.
The frame was supplied with adapters which allow use of modern Ergo levers with the downtube shifter bosses.
The Easton Vista SL Wheels were bought from the LBS, and are shod with the highly regarded Michelin Pro3 race tyre. These were demo wheels, which they did me a reasonable deal for, and they weigh in about 1750g.
The quick release are cheapo fiver Ebay jobs. I'll try and source some nice enclosed Campy QR skewers but modern designs all seem to be open cam, which I refuse to pay top dollar for. The cheapies will do the job just fine for now
The frame was designed as a true racing bike, with little clearance between seat tube and rear tyre, or front mech and tyre.
I've fitted a Brookes B17N saddle, another Ebay bargain, to provide a modicum of practicality. This allows me to use a Carradice Barley for carrying lunch and spares if I commute in or go for a day ride.
Being a bit of a short-arse, you'll note from the small amount of seatpost showing, this can cause problems if the saddlebag fouls the rear tyre. Instead of an expensive Bagman I've borrowed some shock-cord courtesy of my other hobby, dinghy sailing, to use as a solution.
This prevents the Barley from sagging onto the rear wheel as the ride progresses.
Simply shift the shock-cord to the top of the bag to load and unload.
It's been a fun, and occasionally frustrating, process. Luckily I've a patient kind of nature so if there was something I wanted to research or mull over I'd be happy to leave something a week or two whilst I sorted it out. Many thanks to the guys on Know How who helped out with some of those issues, especially jpembroke who offered a Campy lockring for a reasonable price when answering one of those queries. Hope you like it.
Finally, I thought it might be fun for you all to guess how much all the bike bits (except the Barley) in the photos cost for this bike build. Anyone like to take a stab?